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Show I Boxes of Books I and Cupid f- I I By DOROTHY DOUGLAS (Copyright.) BERTHA realized forcibly, when her uncle's will was read, that she had not only sacrificed his respect when she chose athletics rather than literature as a career, hut that she had destroyed her chance of inheriting any of his many thousands of dollars. "And to my niece, " Bertha Woodstock," Wood-stock," repeated Bertha afterward, "1 bequeath my three cases of books and only on the condition that they remain in her possession and occupy a place in her home." Uncle Jack had done the thing thoroughly thor-oughly ; he had also left her the old ivory enameled bookshelves to put the books on. And if it had not been for that clause which ordered her not to dispose dis-pose of them Bertha assuredly would have sold the cases without even opening open-ing them. She was incensed that tier uncle had carried his quarrel with her mother to this extent. Bertha's mother moth-er had always insisted that brains in a girl were useless and that tennis, cross-country rilling and athletics were all that mattered. And Uncle Jack had maintained, and quite truly, that muscles and bone had only a short span of activity, while the brain was a thing of eternity. Bertha never quite forgot that remark re-mark and later, when left to support herself by accepting a position in a rural school to teach athletics to young children, she knew that some way when old age gripped her she should not be in a very happy state of being. She knew vaguely, not given to overmuch of brain work, that there were times when she was frightfully bored at the routine of physical rhythm. There had been three years of grinding monotony at various schools for Bertha and now she had a position posi-tion in a city school and had established estab-lished herself In a small room with her few bits of furniture. The three huge cases of books were deposited in the middle of the floor and, because of lack of space Bertha had no alternative hut to open and unpack them at once. The beautiful old ivory shelves Just fitted into the nooks at each side of the fireplace. The shelves certainly looked- wonderful, wonder-ful, and it was with a little breath of excitement that Bertha began putting in the rows of books and then standing stand-ing off to admire them. Suddenly Bertha noticed that some of th books were numbered, and picking pick-ing uj one numbered one she found a note written in the fly leaf. "A little note from uncle," she said under her breath. "My dear niece," she read: "when you have read the first twelve of nry books I know you will want to read more. Read them in succession and follow up the message." Bertha finished unpacking the books and by that time she was handling them with loving fingers. They had made such a tremendous difference in her small room. They had turned It into a warm, friendly, interesting home and each night she would want to fly hack to it and sit before the fire and read read Uncle Jack's blessed books. She knew as soon as she had begun be-gun the first thrilling love story for Uncle Jack had been wise in his first selections that she was to follow a subtly inserted code that traced itself through thorce twelve books. But she was true to her uncle's wishes and would not tmvel ahead of the code. The "Left foot, Right foot" was erased from her tired mind while she sat lost In the adventures of gloriously glorious-ly interesting people. "Dear uncle," whispered Bertha softly. -And at the end of the twelfth book, the code was complete. "Co I stilt W. B. Danvers. J Old Broad street. Also look Into old French book which 1 have numbered 'Thirteen.'" Bertha her breath coming In swift excitement, sought the little old book.' j opened the small clasp and saw to lief surprise that it was a quaint box i hook. Outwardly the thing was a book hut inwardly a box. and this one was filled with exquisite Jewels. "For Bertha from a loving uncle." ' And of course Bertha wept all over the jewels and into the box. It wasn't so much the gift as the realization that she had been loved in spite of tier stupid stubbornness. And when Bertha went down to consult W. B Danvers she found a i voting lawyer wh;.-se face lit up Joy. fully when sho presented her card. Soniet hint: inside Bertha too lit up and it seemed that L'nolo Jac k was sit-j sit-j tin;: stniPng at something be had I planned and which was coming to i pass even as lie had wished it would. "Your uncle." said the young law-I law-I yer. "has left a very hit-L-e sum of j moi:e. to you and suggested that ou j let me lake charge of it invest it as It were." Somehow ymin; Danvers was lini'.ing his new client rather 1 breath talcing. Bertha smil"(l. "1 shall certainly need you that is. I shall require the ! service of some one who can teach me how to tal:e care of money I've never had much." "Von will ha'.e to s'-e a very great deal of me if I am to help you.' he said, rather tactfully, be thought. ! "Thai will not seem too awfully dif-ficu'l. dif-ficu'l. wiil it?" asked I'a-nha. and lift-ed lift-ed a :',ce;ing glance at V'mg Danvers i I'M in that fleeiing g'ance. the spirit ' her uncle saw all that he had I planned. |